German
Introduction
This is a resource for teachers, parents and of course the children
that are using Modern Languages, particularly German, in primary
schools in County Kildare, Ireland. All submissions and suggestions
for this section of the site are most welcome.
The Pilot Project for Modern Languages commenced in primary schools
in September 1998 and ran for a two-year period. It is being taught
in all fifth and sixth classes in selected schools. The target language
is taught for one-and-a-half hours per class, per week. Teaching
is through the medium of the target language. The four languages
involved are French, German, Spanish and Italian.
It involves a broad spectrum of primary schools, including, urban
and rural schools, gaelscoileanna, gaeltacht schools, schools in
disadvantaged areas, schools for children with special needs and
multi-denominational schools.
1300 schools applied for the project and approximately 270 were
chosen initially. The numbers involved have increased slightly during
the second year of the project.
There are: 70 schools teaching German. Check with the National
Council for Curriculum and Assessment for up to date information
on the projects progress.
The areas involved are Communicative Competence, Language Awareness
and Cultural Awareness. The four language skills; listening, speaking,
reading and writing are being developed and integrated within the
three areas.
The project is being administered by Kildare Education Centre.
Seven project leaders have been appointed in order to provide linguistic
and pedagogical support in the four languages to schools and teachers
involved in the project.
A Project Officer will publish a Report following the conclusion
of the project. The NCCA will use this Report to assist in assessing
the feasibility of introducing a modern language at fifth and sixth
class levels in the primary school.
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